Hint: Print this list off and bring it into your child's bedroom.
The dresser is a repeat of the closet. Except that you go through it drawer by drawer. We don't have dressers in our children's rooms because we wanted the space instead. We do however have night tables. They need to be gone through as well. So you choose for today - the dresser or the night table.
Again, if you are going through a bunch of children's clothes, have them "model" the clothes that you are not sure fit anymore. Try to get rid of as many clothes that your kids will not wear as possible. It is much easier to close the drawers on a dresser when they are not crammed to the top!
Let's get started...The Checklist:
Quickly make up the bed or ask your child to do it. Check the space on the desk. Is it still clear? If not, is the project still cobweb free? How about the floor? Do you have room to work on? You are going to need some floor space to tackle the dresser. Take a quick peak into the closet. Does it still look as good as it did yesterday?
For today, you are going to need your trash bag, and the bag or box to use for clothes that your little ones have outgrown (or will never wear again).
Choose just one drawer on the dresser. Pull out each item one at a time. Again, be tough. Trash is trash!
Now, this is the fun part. Let the modelling begin! When you come across clothes that you are not sure still fit your child, let them put them on and model them for you. Play along, clap and cheer. Clothes that are too small get passed down to the next child or added to the box. If they are so torn or ratty that no child will ever wear them again, just put them into the trash.
Fall and school clothes that are kept are folded and placed onto the bed. Summer clothes that are kept are folded and placed onto the floor.
Continue until you get the drawer empty.
Now repack the drawer with the clothes that you are going to keep. (You may want to consider adding some of the summer clothes onto the top shelf of the closet.)
Then move to the drawer, and so one until you have gone through them all.
Now for the top of the dresser. Take everything off.
Wipe down the top and the fronts of the dresser with a damp rag.
Replace any of the knick-knacks that your child wants to keep back onto the top of the dresser. Again, try to do what you can to convince your child to get rid of any items that they no longer use or want. It is a lot easier to dust a dresser that is decorated with just a few things on top.
Is there a mirror above the dresser? Quick, go grab some window cleaner and sparkle up the mirror. While you are at it, sparkle up the inside of the window as well. I like to clean the doorknobs with the window cleaner at the same time.
That's it. We are not doing anything else in the bedroom. Take a look around. If there is anything we missed, take a few minutes to straighten and sparkle it up. Now take a picture. This is probably the best the room will ever look.
A special note: if it has been awhile since your child's room has been this clean, don't be surprised to find your child playing and enjoying the space. The trains, the lego, the dolls, the crafts, and who know what else will get hauled out onto the floor and onto the desk to be enjoyed again. This is what you want. Don't dispair when it happens. Show your child how to put away these things again when they are done. Teach them how to enjoy one or two things at a time, instead of abandoning and going onto the next thing. It takes time, but boy oh boy, is it ever worth it!
